The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1887-04-13

New York Star.
"Teeto,aIismP said DR.. Crosby
sharply ado 1 believe in teetota-
lism? 1 not only do not believe
In 1t, but 1 consider il my duty as
a Christian minister and a God
fearing man to take a resolute stand
against it." 500 s' 3Af
And the doctor, who for twenty
five years has guided the destinies
of the Fourth Avenue Presbyteri
an Church, walked to and fro in
his residence at No. lie East Nine
tenth street with the air of a man
very much in earnest.
when l addressed the students
at Rutgers college yesterday" he
continued, az simply gave utter
ance to views which L have pri-
vately expressed many times. [
believe that these members of the
Christian churches who are carry
Jug on the fanatieaI war against
aleoohol are not only injuring the
cause of Christianity but violating
the commands of God. Their plat
forms and their methods of proce-
dnre are so palpably wrong that l
believe they are an important cause
of driving people from the church
aud making infidels of them"
do you hold that the Bible adj
Rocates the use of wine?'
Most certainly"
"And in what places2" 4
All through it, from beginning
to end Why our Savior made
wine. He commanded it to be
drunk every day, and ordained its
use at the eucharist. 1t was inten-
ded to be used as the type of great
spiritual idea It is a gift of God
to us, TO be used reasonably, like
all his other gifts. The Christian
war against it is simply an eecles.
-iastical arraignmento of the Creator,
who gave it as blessing to man. ="
'Then you do not believe in the
Temperance pledge2'
Not in the least It is wrong
and useless idea. IF pledge my
self to pay a man 500, lor pledge
myself to marry a woman, it is per-
fectly proper, an agreement enter
ed into between man and man or
man and woman, but if lift my
h Inds on high and pledge myself
To God that will never drink
another drop of alcohol it seems to
me that l am simply self righteous;
that l am assuming an equality
with God which is most unwar-
Tantable and sinful.
I'm addition to that, temperance
I,Io10ao ~ In-R Nh,
old friend DIR. Payson, of Third
avenue, now deceased, told me that
he had administered great many
pledges, and that they were oftener
broken than held to. am oppos-
ed to the temperance pledge from
both standpoints."
"Then what is your position as
regards the use of liquor2"
81 believe in the reasonable use
of wine and beer, or fermented liq-
uOrs. do not believe in the use
of distilled spirits. There is al
c.'hol in wine and beer, to be sure,
aud the fanatics Consequently de
cry it, calling out that Alcohol Is
a deadly poison. 1t is one of the
most widely spread of compounds.
We find it everywhere in food
They might as we'll forbid me to
eat a peach because the prussic
acid which helps to make up its
exquisite flavor is a deadly drug
when taken in quantity"
What is your idea of its reason
able use2''
Il think every right-minded
man can settle that for himself.-
don't mean that a man shall sit
down and drink seventeen or eigh-
teen schooners of beer at a sitting.
Even when he does it is not the
alcohol that hurts him, but the
swash. If should drink seven
teen or eighteen schooners of water
it would turn me into a water bar
rel and naturally injure the tissues
of my system. But this is due
simply to the unreasonable quauti-
ty. Why, Moses Gibbons went be
fore committee of the Legislature
and declared that beer created the
worst kind of drunkenness. L
would like to see every working
man in the country have his COM
Portable glass of beer at dinner, if
he wants it, and / don't believe
any body has the right to say he
shall not have It,"
you do not believe, then, that
the drinking of wine and beer in
culcates desire for strong liquors2"
mo, do not. I-believe that u
country which drinks wine or
beer does not drink whiskey. l
believe that pure wine and good
beer will spoil he sale of distilled
spirits and drive them out. That
is my solution of the temperance
problem. 1 have used both wine
and beer for many years and have
not experienced desire for any
thing stronger, and 1 do not be-
lieve that l am different in this
respect than any other men. 1
think it will be good thing for
the country when our wine pro-
duct is greatly increased, and a
pure, healthy wine is within the
reach of all at small cost"
''But does not the scripture say
that wine Is a mocker and strong
drink is raging?"